German home prices climb again with large cities leading the way

Prices in major cities jumped by 4.6 percent on average in germany, with Munich, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne all recording increases of more than 5 percent, according to the Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp), which represents the most important mortgage banks in Germany.

Tenants in Germany also faced higher costs, with rents for new leases in apartment buildings up 3.7% nationwide and 3.8% in large cities. The steepest rent hikes were seen in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, at around 5%.

The housing shortage in major cities is likely to continue for several years despite government efforts to speed up the processes for acquiring building permits, vdp chief executive Jens Tolckmitt said.

“The initiative to speed up housing construction is good and welcome, but more will be needed,” Tolckmitt said, noting that the success of new initiatives depends heavily on local authorities making use of the newly created opportunities.

He pointed to proposals such as 80% state guarantees for real estate loans to spur large-scale housing construction projects.

The vdp has published regular real estate figures, based on transactions from more than 700 banks, since 2010.

After years of soaring prices, German property prices have fallen from their 2022 peak, when higher interest rates increased borrowing costs.

Profit falls in fourth quarter for Germany’s Siemens Healthineers

Medical technology company of Germany, Siemens Healthineers AG saw profit fall in its fourth quarter compared to the same period of the previous year, the company said.

The company had slightly lower revenues over the period. Further, the company proposed a higher dividend and issued a fiscal 2026 outlook.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, the company expects adjusted basic earnings per share to be between €2.20 and €2.40 ($2.53-$2.76), with comparable revenue growth of between 5% to 6% from the prior year.

In fiscal 2025, adjusted basic earnings per share were €2.39 on revenues of €23.38 billion.

Bernd Montag, chief executive of Siemens Healthineers, said, “We have closed another successful year, despite a challenging environment. Following this achievement, we are raising our proposed dividend. We have a solid foundation for our next strategy phase.”